Delayed Gratification
by sweetestmisery19
Summary: Alice is celebrating her first birthday in Wonderland and a certain haberdasher is missing. WCMI-Inspired.


_A very merry unbirthday to you!_

The silly, little tune had been running through Alice's mind all morning. She had awoken at a reasonable hour, stretched somewhat lazily, and then rolled out of her comfortable bed only to find those words repeating in her head. It was not unusual for her to hum the tune, but today was not the day she wanted to think about unbirthdays.

Though the fourth of May meant little in the greater spectrum, it was the day of Alice's birth, and she had awoken to find that it was precisely that time of the year once again. Birthdays were normally special to Alice, but she found this birthday to be just a tad more special than all the rest for it was, you see, her first birthday in Wonderland. Waking up to an unbirthday wish, even if it was only in her mind, did not seem fitting.

She had attempted to ignore it as she carried on with her normal morning routine. She even tried humming a different tune as she slipped her favorite blue dress over her head. It did not, however, seem to erase the words from her mind, and as soon as she secured the black headband on her head, it was a very merry unbirthday all over again.

Alice did not want to admit she was rather irritated, because frankly, it was hard to be irritated at such a silly thing as a song. Yet, Alice could not help the little feeling bubbling inside of her. To make matters worse, the memory of her first encounter with unbirthdays had started playing in her mind to accompany the tune in her head. Not that it wasn't a fond memory, but it was detracting from the happiness that birthdays usually brought to her.

"_She doesn't know what an unbirthday is!"_

It had been such an odd experience seated at the now familiar long garden table surrounded by all manner of tea things. As a child, Alice had adored tea parties, but she had not been prepared for the one she experienced that day as a curious little girl. How delighted she had been at first! Stumbling onto the little garden, the delicious smell of hot tea greeting her nose followed by the delightful sounds of that unbirthday song. It had been her unbirthday then, and she had eagerly wanted to join in on this special occasion. Too bad she hadn't been able to have a single drop of tea, and the cake decided to take a trip to the upper regions of the atmosphere.

"_Clean cup, clean up! Move down!"_

It had all been terribly disorganized and exceptionally silly. Still, it was a happy memory on all days but the present one. It just did not make sense for one to think of unbirthdays on an actual birthday. Not that too many things actually made sense in Wonderland to begin with, but Alice could have a little hope that occasionally a drop of logic might trickle down onto its inhabitants.

She continued on with her daily business and tried to stay cheerful, but as lunchtime approached, Alice began to wonder if anyone had remembered her birthday at all. Though most chose to celebrate their unbirthdays, there were still some who chose not to as Alice had done. Surely, someone would remember. Mad as they all were, it did seem a bit improbable that everyone would forget. Yet, as the minutes ticked by, Alice became more and more certain that she would be celebrating her birthday completely alone. It was not a pleasant thought in the least, but she could not keep herself from thinking it.

Finally, Alice decided it was pointless to sit around and sulk, and mustering as much muchness as she could, she went out to the long table in the garden to have her birthday lunch alone. She had not really been expecting a large amount of visitors, but she had made it quite clear that all were welcome for lunch that day. Maybe her message had not been quite clear enough, but whatever the reason, she was the only one now seated at the head of the table.

She poured herself a cup of tea and picked up a raspberry tart before an odd thought occurred to her. Reginald had been strangely absent all day. Though there had been a time when this thought would have made her very happy, she now wondered what could possibly be keeping him away on this very important date. Was it possible that he had also forgotten? Alice didn't want to believe it, but the evidence was unfortunately pointing in that direction.

Though Reginald was known far and wide as the Mad Hatter and had proved on many occasions how deserving of the title he was, she had never imagined he would be missing on her birthday. True, he seemed to have a phobia of birthdays and shuddered at the idea of growing older, but he had promised to be at her birthday lunch even if it was only for the tea. Tea, Alice knew, was tremendously important to the quirky haberdasher, and she had been content at the time knowing he would never forsake something so important as a lunchtime tea party. Apparently, she had been wrong and his fear of birthdays had won out in the end.

With a sigh, Alice took a bite of her tart and chewed slowly. It was a terribly, lovely day with bright blue skies and fluffy marshmallow clouds. It was warm, but a cool breeze was blowing rustling the vibrant, green leaves. In the distance, Alice could hear the faint voices of those dreadful flowers singing in the warm sunshine. It was a nice, spring melody urging nature to come fully back to life after the cold winter. It was the perfect day for a noon tea party, and Alice put down her tart suddenly not very hungry anymore.

"Happy birthday to me," she said.

The words did seem a bit melancholy when one was all alone, and Alice gave a tiny grin at the irony of it all. Propping her elbows up on the table, Alice rested her head in her hands and surveyed the table in front of her. Though the table was never clean, it was a bit less cluttered than normal. The dirty teacups and half eaten cakes had been replaced with all manner of tarts and puddings, and the best teapots and china had been laid out for the nonexistent party guests. Next to each plate was an assortment of party favors, and at the very end of the table, neatly wrapped gifts sat for the guests to take with them.

"It would've been such a lovely party," Alice said.

She went to pick her raspberry tart back up when a little envelope caught her attention. How she did not notice it before was a mystery to her because it was bright orange and propped up next to her favorite blue teapot. Perhaps her birthday woes had gotten in the way of seeing it, but there it was as if it belonged with the rest of the party decorations.

"How curious," she said.

Forgetting her tart once again, she reached out and picked up the envelope. Her name was written on the front in an unfamiliar script and a bright, green wax seal she did not recognize sealed the envelope shut. She very carefully broke the seal and a little slip of paper the exact same color of the envelope fell onto the table. This handwriting was also unfamiliar to Alice, and she picked the tiny slip up to study it for a moment before reading.

It was an elegant script with many flourishes, and the ink was an electric blue. All the brightness of the colors hurt Alice's eyes, and it took her quite a few moments before she could decipher her message. As she read it, a smile begin tugging at the corners of her mouth, and Alice had a sneaking suspicion that maybe she wouldn't be spending her birthday completely alone after all.

Quickly jumping up from the table, Alice took one last bite of her tart and raced down the dirt path away from her disappointing tea party. The note had told her to come directly to the Carnation Gardens as soon as she read it, and Alice could barely keep from smiling as she ran down the path. How silly she had been to think everyone had forgotten her birthday. Why, they had decided to surprise her! She could just see all their faces as she entered the garden laughing at their great joke.

Alice ran most of the way, but as she neared her destination, she slowed down her pace and smoothed her dress. She had not been this excited in quite sometime, but she did not want to appear before the party guests in such a disheveled state. Some lessons as a child are hard to forgot, and Alice had been taught to keep an orderly appearance. She doubted anyone here would actually care, but it was hard to predict what anyone in Wonderland would or would not care about at any given moment.

Turning a corner, the Gardens finally came into sight. Something, however, did not seem quite right, and as Alice neared the entrance, her heart sank. The Gardens were completely empty! There were no lights, or decorations, or refreshments, or guests. There was nothing at all save for Alice in her favorite blue dress with the black headband in her hair.

Hot tears threatened to fall, but she kept them at bay. It would not do to cry on her birthday, even if she was so completely disappointed. She could not think of why anyone would have played such a terribly cruel joke on her, but she supposed it didn't even matter now. What was done was done, and with a sigh, Alice turned to make her journey back to the lonely tea party.

She did not rush happily down the dirt path this time, but instead took slow steps. She saw no need to be in any sort of hurry now. There would be no one waiting for her on her return, save maybe the Dormouse who was probably snoozing in one of the teapots. It was possible Alice might be able to wake him for a few moments, but a few moments is probably all she would be able to have as far as conscious companionship goes. After one sip of tea, he would be happily snoozing again. Such an unreliable Dormouse….

As Alice walked, the afternoon turned to evening, and as she neared the little gate to the tea party's garden, it had become quite dark. The only light came from the twinkling stars up in the night sky and the half-full moon. On any other night, Alice would have found it all rather pretty, but she could not find in within herself to think that way tonight. It was just dark. To add to the fire, the Unbirthday Song began playing in her head again, and Alice let out a little groan.

Reginald had never experienced fury like he would experience tomorrow. Alice had not been this angry with him in a very long time. How dare he abandon her on her birthday! She might be able to forgive him if it had been her fifth, or sixth, or seventh birthday in Wonderland. But her first birthday? It was inexcusable, and not only inexcusable. It was also mean and selfish and a dozen others words that Alice couldn't quite think of at the moment. She just never expected him to do something like this to her. Maybe she had been right about him in the beginning and should have stayed away like a sensible young lady.

As Alice rounded a corner, the little garden gate finally came into view. It wasn't exactly a welcoming sight, but at least Alice wouldn't be wandering around in the dark any longer. Maybe she could even finish the rest of her raspberry tart. Though it wasn't the most exciting prospect, it would do.

She continued onward toward the gate, but stopped suddenly as a strange sound floated out towards her. It sounded very much like laughter, and a little flicker of hope sparked in Alice once again. Could it be possible? Though she tried to remain skeptical, she could not help but quicken her footsteps and very soon she was standing right in front of the garden gate. The sight that greeted her caused her heart to give a little leap, and she quickly entered the garden.

At some point, the garden had undergone a transformation. Paper lanterns had been strung up, each of a different design and color. Some were rather large, and some were small. Others were oddly shaped, and all of them were lit with tea lights. Two more tables had been set up with brightly colored tablecloths. Presents filled one, while the other sported a rather large birthday cake. The long garden table did not look too different from earlier, except it was filled with much more food and many more guests, and a stage had been erected a few yards from the table where several musicians sat playing a fast jig while other party guests danced in the cool grass.

"Oh my!" Alice exclaimed.

At the sound of her voice, the party came to a sudden halt. There was a moment of silence, and then all the guests began speaking at once wishing Alice many birthday wishes and shouting things like "Surprise!" and "Happy Birthday!" It was almost overwhelming, and Alice couldn't help but shout back her thanks to them all.

The day had definitely taken a turn for the better, and Alice couldn't imagine being upset or disappointed at all right now. In fact, she wondered why she didn't piece this together earlier. Yet, she supposed she let her disappointment cloud her logic and decided to believe the worst instead of keeping optimistic spirits. Silly Alice for believing everyone would forget.

She joined the party with much enthusiasm and had soon spoken with almost every guest there. The March Hare was in attendance, as well as the Tweedles, and she had even spotted the Cheshire Cat resting lazily on a tree branch nearby. The only person that seemed to still be missing was Reginald. Alice wondered what the hat maker could possibly be up to, but she didn't have to wonder for very long because at that exact moment she felt a little tap on her shoulder, and then a familiar voice whispered in her ear.

"Happy Birthday, little cricket."

Alice whipped around quickly, and there Reginald stood sporting a grin to rival that of the Cheshire Cat's. His eyes were sparking with mischief, and Alice hated to admit that it was quite charming.

"You devil!" she exclaimed. "You terrible, mad man!"

Whether she found him charming or not, she was still angry at his little trick. Alice was quite certain, now that she saw the gleam in his eyes, that he was responsible for this party. Though sweet, he had caused her much unneeded grief and heartache. In no way did Alice want him to think that she was perfectly all right with being abandoned all day and tortured. Maybe she was being a tad bit overdramatic, but it was her birthday after all, and if she couldn't cry at this party, then when would it be acceptable?

"You tricked me!" Alice said.

"Quite right," Reginald replied.

He seemed to be rather proud of himself. In fact, he was positively bouncing with glee. Alice found it very hard to be upset with him at a moment like this. In fact, the way the lantern light bounced off his white hair mixed with that boyish excitement made it quite difficult for Alice to be angry at all. Still, always stubborn by nature, she mustered up the last of her anger and directed it toward the dashing haberdasher.

"How could you possibly be so mean?" She asked with a pout. "Did you even think about how upset I would be all day?"

"Sometimes delayed gratification can be much more rewarding," he replied with a wink.

Alice, try as she might, could not think of anything at all to say in retaliation. Instead, she burst into a fit of uncharacteristic giggles. Reginald, rather pleased with himself at this point, joined in, and it was several seconds before the laughter finally stopped. As Alice caught her breath, Reginald gave a little jolt, and then reached up into his hat.

"I almost forgot," he said pulling a medium sized box out of the top hat. "I hope you like it."

Alice took the box from his gloved hands and examined it for a moment. It was wrapped in shiny blue paper with gold swirls, and a large white curly ribbon bow sat perched up in the left-hand corner. Upon further inspection, Alice noticed that the gold swirls glittered in the lamplight, and she wondered if Reginald had added the glitter himself because several of the swirls turned into teacups. She almost didn't want to open her gift since it was wrapped rather beautifully. Curiosity, however, eventually got the better of her, and she ripped the paper away to reveal a square hatbox.

She had asked Reginald on several occasions if he would make her a hat, but every time he had refused making up some wild excuse as to why that would not be possible. Yet, Alice was now holding a hatbox, and the curious look in Reginald's eyes told her all she needed to know. Without another moment of hesitation, Alice tore the lid off and carefully lifted the most beautiful hat she had ever seen out of the box.

It was a small top hat, modeled after his own, made out of her favorite color of blue and cream-colored taffeta. It was adorned with a variety of silk flowers and ribbons, and he had even added an ostrich feather. She quickly placed it on top of her head and was amazed to find how perfectly it fit.

"Thank you," she beamed.

Reginald said nothing. Instead, he took hold of her hand and whisked her onto the grassy dance floor. As the tango commenced, Alice could think of no better way to celebrate her almost unbirthday.

_The End._

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I hope you enjoyed this. I wrote it in celebration of my own birthday as a little present to myself. A link to the hat that inspired Alice's birthday present can be found on my profile page. A very merry unbirthday to all of you! Please review!


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